Reformer studios get found by people who have been told to try it. They search “reformer pilates” and the area, and before they book they want to know four things: how many beds are in the room, whether they have to do an intro class before joining a group, what a class and a pack cost, and what happens if they cancel late. Websites for pilates studios in Dublin have to settle those four on the first screen, because the person is comparing you with the studio that opened across the road last spring.
Start with the intro rule
Most reformer studios ask new clients to do a fundamentals class or a one to one before they join a group. It is sensible and it is the question you answer twenty times a week. Put it in one short paragraph near the top: what the intro covers, how long it is, what it costs, and that group classes open up once it is done. Then make it the thing people can buy. The booking system can keep group classes closed to anyone who has not done the intro, which ends the awkward conversation at the door.
Six beds and a waitlist
A class of six means every bed matters. The 6.30am and the 6pm slots fill a week out, and the person who finds no space tonight needs a waitlist that tells them when one opens, or they are gone to the other studio. The booking system handles that, along with the reminder the evening before.
Late cancellations are the sore point of this trade. State your window plainly, twelve hours or twenty four, and what it costs to miss it, before anyone pays. A deposit taken at booking makes the policy mean something. A fair, visible policy is also what Irish consumer law expects, and it is the version clients respect.
While you are on the floor cueing, the phone cannot be answered. The chat box on the site answers “do I need the intro”, “is there parking” and “what should I wear” from your own details and passes anything else to WhatsApp.
Prices, packs and memberships
Single class, five pack, ten pack, a monthly membership with a set number of classes, one to one and duet sessions. Expiry dates written beside each. Gift vouchers for Christmas and for the friend who keeps saying she will try it. Everything paid on the page with a card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, straight to your account. Prices on show, because a studio that hides them reads as dear and makes people message instead of booking.
Pictures of the room
The reformers lined up with the straps hung, the light, the mirror, the small-class feel. The instructor cueing with a hand on a carriage. The entrance and where to park or lock a bike. One good set of photos taken on a bright morning will carry the site for a year. No stock photos of a woman stretching on a white background.
The pilates calendar
January and September are the intakes. The weeks before weddings and holidays bring one to one bookings. Summer dips. December is vouchers. A studio that runs a challenge or a six week beginners block can publish it from the edit page the same day it is decided.
Word of mouth people can find
A studio with six beds grows by recommendation, and Google reviews are recommendations a stranger can read. After a block of classes ends, the client gets a text with a direct link to your review box. We have set out how that works, and what never to do, in how to get more Google reviews.
Handing it over
The schedule, the prices and packs, the intro offer and what it covers, the cancellation policy in your words, each instructor’s name and where they trained, a dozen photos, and the name of the booking app if there is one. The online bookings guide shows what connecting one looks like.
What it costs
Complete, at €1,499 to set up and €100 a month, carries bookings with the intro rule, deposits, packs, vouchers, review requests and the chat box. Essentials, at €499 and €50 a month, is for a studio already happy with its booking app that mainly needs a proper page and a correct Google listing. Details are on the pricing page. A physio practice next door has a different kind of appointment, and we have written about that on websites for physios.